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Planting into standing cover crops helps yield

A crop consultant says planting into standing cover crops, rather than termination ahead of spring planting, can produce yield advantages. Eric Niemeyer with Buckeye Soil Solutions in Ohio says planting while a cover crop is still in the field helps keep microbes alive and active.

“It’s warming up that soil faster, and so what we’re planting into is a warm happy seed bed. Giving that crop – corn, soybeans – the best opportunity to come out of the ground with as much vigor and uniformity as possible,” says Niemeyer.

He tells Brownfield farmers can seed through cover crops as high as six feet tall provided they use proper equipment.

“We run a no-till coulter, double disc openers and Cass closing wheels on our planter. In addition to that, we use a Delta Force on our planter to ensure that the ride of each row unit is spot on with the amount of down or up pressure to get through that cover crop canopy,” says Niemeyer.

Niemeyer says cover crop benefits can be realized within the first year, but a continuous program will build upon those early results.

Audio: Eric Niemeyer and Ryan Shanks, Buckeye Soil Solutions, Ohio

 

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